Warner Bros. plan a limited release of the 48-frames per second version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey when it hits cinemas at the end of the year says Variety. The cinema locations haven’t been revealed yet but it may well be that not all major cities will have a cinema showing the film at the higher frame rate.
Warner Bros. claim they are limiting the higher frame rate (HFR) release in order to protect the format. They will test audience reaction to the HFR version and, if the reaction is positive, expand the release of the HFR versions for the second and third films.
At present, there are no cinemas ready for HFR projection, although some only require a software upgrade.
Interestingly, a film shot in 48 fps cannot simply be converted to the normal 24 fps by removing every other frame. Motion blur has to be added to prevent the film from looking choppy.
Here’s hoping that all of us eager to see the 48 fps version will be able to.
How do you feel about the limited release? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
3 Comments